Who Knows DAM For Apple Networks?

[JoeJoomla]

This is my first post in AppleInsider forums. I'm talking about digital asset management (DAM) btw.

I look after a communications department for an association that produces what a typical advertising department does for their clients. Its a small networked Mac environment that creates media from still images to DVD video and everything in between. I need a good digital asset management system (DAM) for multiple users. Of all the software and 'solutions' that I've looked at it's been the sharing/networking weaknesses of them that has prevented us from embracing anything so far. They either don't do DAM for multiple users, or they do it poorly.

What DAM solution really works well for small Apple based design/advertising firms? Is something like Proximity Artbox Workgroup worth looking at or is it the wrong product to consider?

Can you share your experience in this area with me?

[Carniphage]

Can you share your experience in this area with me?

I worked with NXN AlienBrain on the PC for a while. It has since been bought by Avid.

The technology definetely gets in the way. Artists have to use the AlienBrain client to save work onto the AlienBrain server.

The supposed benefits of DAM are these I guess....
1) doing this extra work will recoup benefits when you make a mistake and need to revert to a previous version.
2) You have metadata which makes searching for one particular asset faster.
3) You also have all your files mirrored on the server - so you can back that up easily.
4) Work is checked-out to one artist and then and checked back in. So two artists cannot interfere with each others work.

Source-code control for programmers is ultra useful - and the best kind of DAM. But for artists I am more skeptical.

See 1) Artists tend to revert to previous versions less often. The most common mistake; saving over a good version with an empty version can be addressed by daily backups.
See 2) Metadata is good - but Spotlight on the Mac is probably better.
See 3) This is not really true. Backing up the database while live was something that they didn't seem to support very well.
See 4) This is something you can handle with good working practices. When work is checked out it becomes vulnerable to being saved over etc.

My guess is that if you spent two months using the system, you might conclude that a rigorous frequent backup strategy (mirroring files into dated archives on hard drives) would give you all the benefits and none of the costs.

Just my thoughts.

C.

[gregmightdothat]

Have you looked at Adobe Version Cue?

[JoeJoomla]

Have you looked at Adobe Version Cue?

No I haven't. Does it manage all kinds of media formats?